Hitchcock: The Beginning

Released: 16th December 2024. WI T N E S S  T H E  B I R T H  O F  A  C I N E M A T I C   L E G E N D For the first time on Blu-ray, featuring new restorations and scores, experience 10 of Alfred Hitchcock’s early works. From the silent film era to the first talkies, this 11-disc set also contains a newly commissioned, full-length documentary, Becoming Hitchcock, exploring the director’s first sound picture, Blackmail. In 1929, Hitchcock directed Blackmail, the first British sound feature, hailed as a film which “used sound and dialogue with more flair and imagination than any Hollywood or European film of the time.” Hitchcock’s inventive and expressionist use of sound  demonstrated that the new technology opened a new realm of possibilities. The Ring (1927) The Ring is a love triangle melodrama set in the world of boxing: the title refers not just to the boxing ring, but also to the wedding ring which unites Jack ‘one round’ Sander (Carl Brisson) and his girlfriend Mabel (Lilian Hall-Davis). / runtime: 106 mins EXTRAS: A Knockout Score: Neil Brand on The Ring, Hitchcock / Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview, Audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton, Introduction by Director & Film Historian Noël Simsolo, Stills Gallery The Farmer's Wife (1928) The Farmer’s Wife concerns the search of a widowed farmer, Samuel Sweetland (Jameson Thomas), for a new wife, approaching four local spinsters with arrogant expectation, only to be wounded by rejection each time. / runtime: 112 mins EXTRAS: Hitch in the Countryside: Neil Brand on The Farmer's Wife, Extract from BEHP Audio interview with Ronald Neame, Hitchcock / Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview, Introduction by Director & Film Historian Noël Simsolo, Stills Gallery Champagne (1928) Disapproving of her love affair, a millionaire (Gordon Harker) sets out to teach his irresponsible daughter (Betty Balfour) a lesson by pretending to lose all his money in Champagne. / runtime: 106 mins EXTRAS: Hitch & Champagne: Neil Brand on music for Silent Film, A Heady Cocktail: Charles Barr on Champagne, Hitchcock/Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview, Audio commentary by film historian Farran Smith Nehme, Introduction by Director & Film Historian Noël Simsolo, Stills Gallery The Manxman (1929) (NEW SCORE) In a remote Isle of Man fishing community, two men, friends since childhood, find themselves in love with the same woman. / runtime: 101 mins EXTRAS: Melodrama à la Manx: Stephen Horne on scoring Hitchcock, Hitch's Leading Ladies by Davina Quinliven, Audio commentary by film historian Farran Smith Nehme, Hitchcock/Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview, Introduction by Director & Film Historian Noël Simsolo, Stills Gallery Blackmail (1929) - SILENT VERSION (new 4K restoration and NEW SCORE ) Grocer’s daughter Alice White (Anny Ondra) kills a man in self-defence when he tries to sexually assault her. Her policeman boyfriend covers up for her, but she has been spotted leaving the scene by a petty criminal who tries to blackmail her. / runtime: 76 mins EXTRAS: Silent into Sound: Neil Brand on Blackmail, Anny Ondra’s Screen Test, Extract from BEHP Audio interview with Ronald Neame, Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas, Hitchcock/Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview, Introduction by Director & Film Historian Noël Simsolo, Stills Gallery Blackmail (1929) - TALKIE VERSION (new 4K restoration) runtime: 86 mins EXTRAS: Hitch & The Irish Players - An Interview with Charles Barr, Hitchcock/Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview, Stills Gallery Juno and the Paycock (1930) Starring Barry Fitzgerald, Marie O’Neill, Edward Chapman, Sara Allgood.  During the Irish Civil War in 1922, a family earns a big inheritance. They start leading a rich life, forgetting what the most important values are. Based on the successful play by Seán O'Casey, Hitchcock filmed a faithful reproduction of the play using fewer of his directorial touches than he usually incorporated, often asking cinematographer Jack Cox to hold the camera for long single shots. / runtime: 96 mins EXTRAS: MARY: 1931 German version of 'Murder! ', Alternate Ending, Audio Commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton, Hitchcock/Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview, Introduction by Director & Film Historian Noël Simsolo, Stills Gallery Murder! (1930) Starring Herbert Marshall, Nora Baring, Edward Chapman, Phyllis Konstam. An actress is convicted of the murder of another actress in the same touring company. But the distinguished actor Sir John Menier (Herbert Marshall), who served on the jury at her trial, becomes convinced of her innocence. One of Hitchcock’s few whodunits, MURDER! is a fascinating, multi-layered study of the role played by performance in public and private life, and features long, carefully choreographed takes, as well as an intriguing take on sexuality.  Included as an extra is MARY the German language version of MURDER!, made at the same time as the English original and boasting not only top actor Abel (Phantom, Metropolis, L’Argent) but mysterious silent-era star Tchekowa. The film reflects the influence of German Expressionism on Hitchcock’s lighting. / runtime: 103 mins EXTRAS: Alma Hitchcock: Jo Botting & Natalie Morris in Conversation, Hitchcock/Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview, Introduction by Director & Film Historian Noël Simsolo, Stills Gallery The Skin Game 1931) - REMASTERED FOR 2024 Starring Edmund Gwenn, Helen Haye, C V France, Jill Esmond, John Longden, Phyllis Konstam. The rivalry between a gentrified family and a wealthy tradesman turns to tragedy when the former use their discovery of the dark past of the tradesman's daughter-in-law to thwart his building plans. Adapted by Hitchcock with a script by Alma Reville, from the successful stage play by John Galsworthy, THE SKIN GAME presents a powerful and convincing portrayal of industrial encroachment on the rural gentry with a mix of long-take dialogue scenes and montage.  / runtime: 83 mins EXTRAS: Unexpectedly Personal: Charles Barr on Rich and Strange, Audio Commentary by film historian Troy Howarth, Hitchcock/Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview, Introduction by Director & Film Historian Noël Simsolo, Stills Gallery Rich and Strange (1931) Starring Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Percy Marmont, Betty Amann, Elsie Randolph.  83min.  Aspect Ratio: 1.19:1 Married couple Fred and Emily Hill (Henry Kendall and Joan Barry) go on a world cruise to escape their humdrum lives. Their relationship begins to fall apart when they both become attracted to other people. A charming film that possesses many of Hitchcock’s signature touches and with a somewhat daring theme which Hitchcock would return to in THE 39 STEPS./runtime: 84 mins EXTRAS: From Silent Film Idol to Superman: John Stuart by Jonathan Croall, Audio Commentary by film, historian and critic Peter Tonguette, Hitchcock/Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview, Introduction by Director & Film Historian Noël Simsolo, Lobby Cards Gallery Number Seventeen (1932) (new 4K restoration) Starring John Stuart, Anne Grey, Leon M Lion. A detective (John Stuart) tracks a group of criminals to a deserted house above a rail depot which they are using to escape to the continent. A comedy thriller, adapted from Joseph Farjeon’s play, Hitchcock was initially unhappy with the project as he considered the story to be riddled with cliches, so the script written by Rodney Ackland with Hitchcock and Alma Reville takes on a satirical and entertaining tone and contained the first appearance of what was to become a characteristic of Hitchcock’s work – a MacGuffin – in this case a stolen necklace. / runtime:  64 mins approx. EXTRAS: FROM SILENT FILM IDOL TO SUPERMAN: JOHN STUART BY JONATHAN CROALL, AUDIO COMMENTARY BY FILM HISTORIAN AND CRITIC PETER TONGUETTE, HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT: ARCHIVAL AUDIO INTERVIEW, INTRODUCTION BY DIRECTOR & FILM, HISTORIAN NOËL SIMSOLO, LOBBY CARDS GALLERY BRAND-NEW DOCUMENTARY - BECOMING HITCHCOCK THE LEGACY OF BLACKMAIL  (2024) Directed by Laurent Bouzereau, Narrated by Elvis Mitchell, Produced by Studiocanal in association with Nedland Films, 72min.BECOMING HITCHCOCK – THE LEGACY OF BLACKMAIL, a brand new 72-minute documentary from award-winning filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau (Faye, Music by John Williams, Five Came Back) and narrated by historian, critic and filmmaker Elvis Mitchell, reflects the development  of Alfred Hitchcock’s signature style, through the making of one of his benchmark films, Blackmail (1929). The documentary highlights the birth of the “Hitchcock Touch” at a period when talking pictures first emerged and explores his trademark themes, such as murder, suspense and cool blondes. While focusing on Blackmail, the documentary reveals how this film also foreshadows the director’s later masterpieces, from Psycho to North by Northwest and from The Birds to Frenzy. / runtime: 70 mins